Today we continued our trip around the western islands of this beautiful archipelago.
Isabela is the biggest island by far, home of five active shield volcanoes that formed it. Today during the morning, we visited a place called Urbina Bay. In 1954 this entire place was uplifted and brought with it every organism that had been living under water. So, after breakfast, we landed here to see all of the shells and corals pushed up by the volcano’s pressure. We were also in search of more land iguanas and our first sighting of Giant tortoises. After the hikes, some of the guests enjoyed cooling off at the beach after walking under the Equatorial sun.
It was a special afternoon, because of the traditional Ecuadorian lunch that displayed all the varieties of food that are found in all the corners of the country.
Later after some rest, the National Geographic Endeavour set course to Tagus Cove. This place has been used since the time pirates stole gold from galleons coming from South America. It was also a “must anchor” place for whalers who took all the animals they could.
We started with the kayakers who paddled next to the shoreline of this magnificent coast of the cove and found some penguins and cormorants on the rocks. Some were surprised by the number of sea turtles swimming beside their kayaks. Later, snorkelers jumped into the water to have the last chance to swim with several turtles at the time, penguins and flightless cormorants.
And to end this day full of activities, hikers visited Darwin’s Lake in Tagus Cove while others visited the penguin colonies with the Zodiacs.
